Typewriting machine



W. F. HELMOND urawamue MACHINE Filer i'J-an. 17. 1923 I Jan. 12 1926.;:1-,5@5,0

Patented Jan. 12, 1936,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. I-IELMOND, OF HARTFORD, GONNEGTIGUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNDERWOODTYPEWRITER COMPANY, OF NEVT YORK, ll'. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed January 17, 1923. Serial No. 613,096.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WVILLIAM F. HELMOND, acitizen of the United States, residing in Hartford, in the county ofHartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Typewrit-mg Machines, of WlllCll the following 1s aspecification.

This invention relates to front-strike J0 typewrit-ing machines, andmore particularly to the arrangement of the type-bars thereof and thetype-segment whereon the type-bars are pivoted and whereby they areguided in their operative movements between normal and printingpositions; and has for its principal.object to increase the number oftype-bars by adding two at each side in a typewriting machine whichordinarily is provided with forty-two type-bars, the idea being to forma subgroup of type-bars at each end of the type-bar system, the typebarsof which sub-groups fan forwardly from the type-bar segment, so that thetypebars, which are forty-six in number, may

5 be arranged at the segment within the same angular space,substantially 120, which is usually needed for only forty-two type-bars;the type-bars in the end groups fanning outwardly so as to be spread attheir forward ends, so that the types thereon clear each other as theylie in the type-bar basket. The invention is illustrated in connectionwith an Underwood typewriter.

In typewriting machines of this kind, the type-bars are fulcrumed atspaced oints along an arcuate fulcrum wire whici extends within and nearthe periphery of a type-bar-segment having slots for guiding thetype-bars in their operative movements. Each type-bar has a body-portionjust long enough to swing to the center of the segment and ahead-portion at the outer end of the body-portion and arranged at anangle to the body-portion such that the type will occupy a verticalposition when at the printing point. The sharpness of the angles formedby the head and body portions of' the type-bars increases progressivelyfrom the type-bars which are centrally located, to the extreme outertype-bars of the set, and consequently the amount of space required bythe type-heads in their normal positions upon their support increasesprogressively from the middle outward, the

of the type-bars in planes perpendicular to the plane of writing. Wherethis plan is followed the slots in the segment are necessarily spacedapart dilferent distances corresponding to the space required by therespective type-heads in normal position. This has a decided limitingeifect upon the capacity of the segment.

It is desirable, under some circumstances, to provide more types thanstandard segments, slotted in accordance with this wellknown plan, canaccommodate. It is highly desirable to do this without increasing theradius of the type-bar segment or lengthening the type-bars, orincreasing the angular space occupied by the type-bars in the segment.

In accordance with the present invention, space is economized on thetype-bar segment, and the capacity of the segment is consequentlyincreased, by so cutting the slots in the segment for several of theouter typebars that the fulcra of these bars will be shifted along'tliefulcrum wire toward the middle of the system, or put into more compactor closer-spaced arrangement, while substantially the original normalpositions and spacing of the type-heads will be retained. The cutting ofa slot is controlled by the requirements that the vertex of tlu angleformed by the head and body portiom of the type-bar must swing to thecenter of the segment, and must return to a point such that thetype-head in its normal position onits support will have just sutlicientroom to clear the adjacent type-heads. The guide slot for a giventype-bar is, therefore, necessarily cut to guide the type-bar in a planewhich includes these two points. A plane which includes these points andalso includes a fulcrum point nearer to the middle of the type-barsystem than has heretofore been used is necessarily oblique to the planeof writing. It has been found that the types when guided in such a planestrike a much better blow than the outer types when guided in slots cutby the former method. Consequently, the printing, manifolding andstencil-cutting are greatly imstamped or blanked by proved, and the typereturns more quickly to its normal position. In former practice, thetype-bar slots in the segments resembled radial slots cut in the surfaceof a cylinder; and the same is. true of a middle-group of the slots inthe present segment; but the remaining slots, which are grouped at eachend of the middle group, are rather cut insubstantially helicaldirections in the segment, the plane of the first helical slot beingnearly parallel with the axis of the segment,

' the plane ofthe next being more at an angle wlth said axis,

the next at a still greater angle, and so on; whereby the slots them.-selves converge toward their rear ends 1n a downward direction at bothside portions of the segment. i

One of the advantages of the invention 1s that by arranging thetype-bars at the sides of the system more closely on compactly at theirfulcrum ends,'inste ad of widely separated as heretofore, the angulardistance of the extreme left-hand bar from the extreme right-hand barmay be so that the body-portions ofthe type-bars may extend at as largeobtuse angles as possible to their head portions, which is adesideratum, inasmuch as it tends to improve the type impressionsandalso to perm t the types to clear each other better in their normalpositions in the typesbasket.

A further advantage of the present 1nvention ari ses from having all ofthe typebars of. equal: length, so that they may be thesame set oftools, thus minimizing be cost of manufacture.

Other features and advantageswill hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional View through the type-bar hooks,taken on the line 1l.-1 of Figure 4 and looking upward as, indicated bythe arrows in the latter figure.

Figure 2; is a' fragmentary transverse vertical section of a typewritingmachine embodying the improvements of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a developed plan view, showin-g a part of the types andtype-bars in their normal positions,

Figure 4: is a, fragmentary longitudinal vertical section, showing thetype-bar mounting in they segment.

' Figure 5 is a front elevation of a type-bar and type guided by asl'otcut in the ordinary way.

Figure 6 is a. front elevation of a type-bar and type,- guided by a slotcut in accordance with the present invention,

The typewriting machine comprises a movable carriage (not shown), inwhich is mounted a platen 10. The usual keys (not shown) operatekey-levers (not shown) to cause bell-cranks 11, through studs 12 carkeptat about 120,

ried thereby and slots 13 in type-bars 1.4: and 15, to swing thetype-bars about a. fulcrumwire 16, upon, which they are pivotallysupported in a type-bar segment 17, to carry the types, 18 and 19 fromnormal p a segmental support or basket (not shown) up to strikere'arwardly against the front face of the platen to cause Writing to beeffected. Each type-bar 14 comprises a body-portion 20, which swings tothe center of the segment, and a head-portion 21 on which the type-block4 22 is mounted and which is. guided to the printing point by atype-guide 23. Shoulders 24 on the. typebars 1& and 15 actuate auniversal bar 25 in the. course of the upward-swinging movement, andthereby operate the escapement mechanism, (not shown) which controlsthelettenfeeding movements of: the carriage.

In the illustrated:machine, there are fortysix type-bars. arranged inthree groups, namely, a central group andtwoend groups. The centralgroup includes thirty-four of the type-bars, designated; by the numeral-14, which type-bars, are; guided in segmentslots 26 cut perpendicularlyto the segment 17' in the. usual manner to guide their-typebars 14 inplanes which are perpendicular to the plane of: writing; in other words,in

radial planes of a cylinder coaxial; with the segment 17'. The outer sixslots. 27 of each group. at the side of the segment 17 are cut tolocatethe 'ttulcra of the type-bars 1-5 which they guide, nearer to the middleof the machine than would be the case if the slots 27 were cut inaccordance with the practice of unequal spacing heretofore followed. Theslot27' for each of the type-ba-rs 15. is

so cut, however, that the normal position of the head-portion 28thereofis. not changed and the type-bar body portion 29- is still causedto swing to. the center 01* the segment 17. Thetype-blocks.30,carriedby-the headportions 28. otthe typeebars. 15,, are,therefore, spaced farther apart in.v the normal position of thetype-bars 15 than are the fulcra of the bars, so that the type-barsconverge rearwardly when in normal position, or, each other at theirfree ends, as indicated in Figure 3'. In other words, the outer SIXslots 27' on each side are helically cut, as previously explained; Bythus shifting the slots 27 along-the segment tobring each slot as close.as is:- practically possible to the next inner slot of the set, the.capacity o'lithe type-bar-segment 1 7 is increased.

The type-bars 15 guided by the outer slots 27 do not swing at rightangles to the fulcrum-wire 16. The upper ends of the slots 13 of thesetype-bars which bearupon 'the fulcrum-wire are, therefore, beveled toprevent binding of the type-bars 15v on the wire.

The studs 12 for actuating the type-bars ositions upon inother; words,fan outwardly from- 15 are made long enough to allow play and thereby toprevent friction between the typebars 15 and the bell-cranks 11, whichwould otherwise result from the non-parallel move ment thereof.

The body-portions 20 and 29 of the typebars 14 and 15 are substantiallyin the respective planes of their vibrations. Nearly all of thetype-bars 14 have to be bent at their type-ends or head-portions 28, andall of the type-bars 15 have to be so bent, inasmuch as they radiatedownwardly and outwardly from their vertical type-blocks 22 and 30 whenin printing positions.

It is necessary, in order to obtain even type-impressions, that thefaces of the types 18 and 19 shall be brought into parallelism with theplane of writing when the types are actuated. In the case of an ordinarytype 18, this will be brought about by mount.

ing the type-block 22 with the face of the type at right angles to thebody-portion 20 of its type-bar 14, as indicated in Figure 5.

The body-portions 29 of the type-bars 15 at the extreme sides of thesystem occupy the helically-directed slots 27 and lie in planescoincident with said slots. These type-bars approach the plane ofwriting obliquely. In order that the faces of the types 19 may beproperly positioned with reference to the plane of writing so as to beparallel therewith when at the printing point, the head-portions 28 ofthe type-bars 15, on which these types are mounted, are twisted withreference to the body-portions 29, as indicated in Figure 6. Thedirections of the helices of the helically-cut slots 27 are right handat the right-hand side of the segment and left hand at the lefthand sideof the segment. The heads 28 of the typebars 15 guided by these slots 27at the opposite sides of the system must, therefore, be twisted inopposite directions in order to obtain the desired result.

The new method of slotting is confined to the outer slots of thetype-bar segment, for the reason that little economy of space can beeffected by shifting the fulcra of the centrally located type-bars,because the type bar heads occupy little space on the support, so thatit has been possible to position the fulcra of these type-bars quiteclose together when the segment was slotted in accordance with thepractice heretofore followed.

It will, of course, be understood that the invention is not limited tothe provision of any definite number of slots in planes perpendicular tothe plane of writing, nor to the forming of any particular number ofslots obliquely to that plane.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, andportions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a typewriting machine, the combina tion with a platen, of a seriesof radially arranged type-bars printing at a common point against saidplaten, a type-bar segment, and a curved fulcrum wire on said segmentsupporting all of said type-bars, the type-bars being all of equallength, the segment having equally spaced slots to guide said typebars,said type-bars being arranged in three groups, namely, a middle or maingroup and two sub-groups at the sides of the main group, the slots forthe middle group of type-bars being perpendicular to the segment, theslots for each sub-group of typebars being skewed relatively to thesegment to cause the type-bars of said sub-groups to fan outwardly fromeach other at their free ends, providing clearance for the types on thebars of said sub-groups.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of a seriesof radially arranged type-bars printing at a common point against saidplaten, a type-bar segment, and a curved fulcrum wire on said segmentsup porting all of said type-bars, the type-bars being all of equallength, the segment having equally spaced slots to guide said typebars,said type-bars being arranged in three groups, namely, a middle or maingroup and 1 two sub-groups at the sides of the main group, the slots forthe middle group of type-bars being perpendicular to the segment, theslots for each sub-group of typebars being skewed relatively to thesegment to cause the type-bars of said sub-groups to fan outwardly fromeach other at their free ends, providing clearance for the types on thebars of said subgroups, the type-bars of the sub-groups being slottedand having beveled surfaces at the upper ends of the slots to engage thefulcrum wire and move freely thereon.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a platen, of a seriesof forty-six radially arranged type-bars printing at a common pointagainst said platen, a typebar segment, and a curved fulcrum wire onsaid segment supporting all of said typebars, said type-bars beingequally distributed in an arcextending through an angle of substantially120, the type-bars being all of equal length, the type-bars at theextreme sides of the system fanning outwardly from a plane near thetype-bar segment, spreading at their free ends and providing clearancefor the types on said extreme type-bars, the type-bar segment havingskewed slots for the type-bars at the extreme sides of the system tocause them to fan outwardly.

WILLIAM F. HELMOND.

